Last Modified: September 12, 2008Cyber Command

In 1999 Tom Clancy published Net Force, a best-selling novel about a hypothetical super-sophisticated secret government enforcement team whose mission was to combat crime on the Internet. On Nov. 2, 2006, the Secretary of the Air Force announced to the public the creation of the U.S. Air Force Cyber Command and a real version of Clancy’s crime fighting concept received government approval. Since that time, many states including Louisiana, Texas, Nebraska, California and Virginia have announced their intention to compete for the honor of having the Cyber Command Center located in their state.

The center is expected to employ more than 500 local workers and create as many as 10,000 related jobs for private companies that will be contracted to develop computer software for use by Cyber Command. Portions of Cyber Command’s facility such as the Network Operations Center are already based at Barksdale Air Force Base, and the Operations Center runs the Air Force's computers as well as the Cyber Combat Development Center. A Research Park is being built off Highway 80 next to Barksdale Air Force Base containing the Cyber Combat Development Center and many other planned developments that indicate a bright future for Shreveport-Bossier City in terms of economic opportunities.